Best cities for life sciences and biotech pay after cost of living
Question 1
Where are you right now?
Why we ask: a laid-off week and a thinking-about-a-move week look nothing alike. No résumé, no account.
Key facts
- #1 Waltham, MA: $221k
- #2 Somerville, MA: $212k
- #3 Princeton, NJ: $211k
- 10 cities ranked in the United States
- Data as of November 2026
For comparison: $183k across the typical city in our data.
- 1Waltham MA$221k
- 2Somerville MA$212k
- 3Princeton NJ$211k
- 4Boston MA$208k
- 5Cambridge MA$206k
- 6Lexington MA$181k
- 7San Francisco CA$177k
- 8New York NY$166k
- 9San Diego CA$159k
- 10Irvine CA$120k
What stands out
- The lead is wide: Waltham ($221k) is well clear of Irvine at #10 ($120k).
- Irvine reaches #10 on a sample of 24 openings with pay posted, a smaller market than most of the top ten, so its rank can move more from month to month.
- Boston is the largest market in the top ten, with 161 openings with pay posted behind its figure.
- Cities with fewer than 30 openings with pay posted are not ranked, and small differences between neighbouring ranks are not meaningful.
Why this ranking matters
What it shows
Pay in an industry varies by city as much as the cost of living does. Adjusting posted pay for local prices shows where the same industry's salary goes furthest.
How to use it
Use it to compare offers in the same industry across cities. A city with a lower headline salary can leave you ahead once prices are counted.
The top 25
- 1
Waltham MA
$221k
- Median posted pay
- $234k
- State prices vs US average
- +6%
- Openings with pay posted
- 40
Hiring most here: Boston Dynamics, Anduril Industries, Xometry
Based on 40 openings.
- 2
Somerville MA
$212k
- Median posted pay
- $225k
- State prices vs US average
- +6%
- Openings with pay posted
- 43
Hiring most here: Formlabs, Tulip Interfaces, Generate Biomedicines
Based on 43 openings.
- 3
Princeton NJ
$211k
- Median posted pay
- $230k
- State prices vs US average
- +9%
- Openings with pay posted
- 49
Hiring most here: Genmab A/S, Otsuka, ZS Associates
Based on 49 openings.
- 4
Boston MA
$208k
- Median posted pay
- $225k
- Local prices vs US average
- +8%
- Openings with pay posted
- 161
Hiring most here: Vertex Pharmaceuticals, State Street, Confidential
Based on 161 openings.
- 5
Cambridge MA
$206k
- Median posted pay
- $218k
- State prices vs US average
- +6%
- Openings with pay posted
- 157
Hiring most here: Harvard University, Biogen, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals
Based on 157 openings.
- 6
Lexington MA
$181k
- Median posted pay
- $192k
- State prices vs US average
- +6%
- Openings with pay posted
- 40
Hiring most here: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Lincoln Lab), Takeda Development Center Americas, Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals International
Based on 40 openings.
- 7
San Francisco CA
$177k
- Median posted pay
- $205k
- Local prices vs US average
- +16%
- Openings with pay posted
- 61
Hiring most here: OpenAI, Anthropic, University Of California San Francisco Foundation
Based on 61 openings.
- 8
New York NY
$166k
- Median posted pay
- $187k
- Local prices vs US average
- +13%
- Openings with pay posted
- 51
Hiring most here: Amazon, Publicis Groupe, Morgan Stanley
Based on 51 openings.
- 9
San Diego CA
$159k
- Median posted pay
- $178k
- Local prices vs US average
- +12%
- Openings with pay posted
- 91
Hiring most here: Qualcomm Inc/De, Qualcomm Technologies, General Atomics
Based on 91 openings.
- 10
Irvine CA
$120k
- Median posted pay
- $133k
- State prices vs US average
- +11%
- Openings with pay posted
- 24
Hiring most here: Anduril Industries, Field AI, Rivian Automotive
Based on 24 openings.
Full ranking
All 10 cities that qualified, with the figure each is ranked on.
| Rank | City | Score | Sample |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Waltham MA | $221k | 40 |
| 2 | Somerville MA | $212k | 43 |
| 3 | Princeton NJ | $211k | 49 |
| 4 | Boston MA | $208k | 161 |
| 5 | Cambridge MA | $206k | 157 |
| 6 | Lexington MA | $181k | 40 |
| 7 | San Francisco CA | $177k | 61 |
| 8 | New York NY | $166k | 51 |
| 9 | San Diego CA | $159k | 91 |
| 10 | Irvine CA | $120k | 24 |
How this ranking works
The score is the median posted annual salary (the midpoint of each posted range) for roles at employers in this industry in a city, divided by its local price level, with the United States at 100.
Price levels are the Bureau of Economic Analysis regional price parities for the city's metro area, or its state where no metro figure exists. Only cities with at least 20 listings in the industry that post a salary are ranked.
A city where one employer posts more than 50% of its openings is not ranked, so a single company cannot decide a city's score.
Sample bar: cities with fewer than 30 openings are not ranked.
Sources: NextChapter job data: posted annual salary ranges; Bureau of Economic Analysis regional price parities 2024 (metro areas and states). Data as of November 2026.
Our job data covers professional roles on the career sites of employers we track, so figures describe that market, not every job. Spot an error? Tell us.
Questions
- Which city ranks first: best cities for life sciences and biotech pay after cost of living?
- Waltham leads the United States for pay after the cost of living in this industry: its median posted salary buys what $221k buys at average US prices.
- How many cities are ranked?
- 10 cities have at least 30 openings with pay posted, so the list has 10 entries.
- How is the ranking calculated?
- The score is the median posted annual salary (the midpoint of each posted range) for roles at employers in this industry in a city, divided by its local price level, with the United States at 100. Price levels are the Bureau of Economic Analysis regional price parities for the city's metro area, or its state where no metro figure exists. Only cities with at least 20 listings in the industry that post a salary are ranked. A city where one employer posts more than 50% of its openings is not ranked, so a single company cannot decide a city's score.
- How often is it updated?
- Every month. This is the November 2026 edition. Older editions stay on this site at their own dated addresses.
More rankings
Cite this ranking
NextChapter, “Best cities for life sciences and biotech pay after cost of living,” November 2026 edition. https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-cities-for-life-sciences-and-biotech-pay-vs-cost-of-living
Link to it: <a href="https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-cities-for-life-sciences-and-biotech-pay-vs-cost-of-living">Best cities for life sciences and biotech pay after cost of living (NextChapter, November 2026)</a>
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